Few industries in the world have come close to the success that Australian manufacturing has had over the last year.The sector recently hit its 16th straight month of improvement, the longest stretch it has had since 2005, Business Insider reported. With all the prosperity comes a tall task for organisations, though: Staving off competitors and supporting greater capacity for work. With business management software, that's easier than ever.A look at the numbersThe Ai Group's Performance of Manufacturing Index (PMI) tracks the sector's growth rate. Any score over 50 shows improvement, and the distance that figure is away from 50 suggests the speed with which it's happening at. In the first month of 2018 the PMI rose 2.5 points, signifying that it's not only expanding but doing so quickly as well, according to Business Insider.

Eating food is an age-old concept; the way it's being delivered is refreshingly modern.Where innovation has automated the warehouse floor, digital transformation has given the food manufacturing supply chain a brand new mode of operation. Technologies like blockchain, the Internet of Things (IoT) and business intelligence platforms are all set to have a drastic impact on the way organisations of all sizes approach it.Fuel behind the changeBefore diving into the digital revolution and what it has to offer, it's important to understand where the headwinds are coming from. For the food manufacturing in particular, one key driver is the modern consumer and client: They both require increased visibility and traceability into the supply chain.Customers, clients and technology are at the heart of it all.The former is growing more conscientious of what they're eating, in part because of a change in dietary restrictions. Nearly 12 per cent of Australians are now vegetarians, according to a study from Roy Morgan. But they're not the only segment that could be concerned with how food was processed or transported with. The organic movement is growing, and society at large is more interested in learning what goes into the products that they're eating.On the other side, clients are expecting more from vendors than ever before. Customer service is turning into a competitive advantage as rising energy prices and the consolidation of the sector are supporting slimming profit margins. Being able to deliver a wide variety of information on the supply chain - and improving its efficiency - has become a key selling point for many companies.The other component driving this digital transformation is the development of technology itself. Organisations are simply able to do more than ever before thanks to platforms like business management software, which integrates a suite of applications to create a fully connected workforce. It's helping to break down silos previously marred by disconnected legacy equipment.From Bitcoin to bananasBlockchain technology is a hot topic across every industry, but its usefulness is heralded in markets like finance and manufacturing. Blockchain is under a decade old and was created in 2009 as a way to securely record Bitcoin transactions, Food Processing magazine reported. Blockchain first appeared to support Bitcoin, but soon it'll help manufacturing companies. It serves as a foundation for transcribing trades in a fashion that's unchangeable and completely reliable. Each interaction is bound to a theoretical block, and all subsequent transactions are ascribed to the previous one. It creates a reliable history of product movement without the need for human input.What type of value does this bring to manufacturing? If customer service is a driving component of success, being able to produce verifiable information that inventory was delivered on time and without damage is one foundation of an effective strategy. Since data recorded on blockchain cannot be altered after the fact, this type of transparency is miles ahead of the industry average, according to Food Processing magazine.This technology is still in its relative infancy, so don't expect it to be a widely available option just yet. But organisations should keep an eye on how it's developed and rolled out, and should look to stay ahead of competitors by integrating it into their supply chain as soon as possible.IoT is allowing organisations to gather vast sums of data.All-knowing sensorsIf we see blockchain as a way to safely store and view information, then IoT is the cog behind collecting it. By leveraging wireless sensors, organisations create unparalleled insight into previously manual tasks; collecting temperatures within the cold chain and tracking delivery routes are just two of their many uses.IoT isn't anything new - it has been...

Big data runs the world, and companies are scrambling to gather as much of it as possible.It's because information is power, and that couldn't ring more true than in the manufacturing industry. Organisations are leveraging their existing assets in a variety of innovative ways to improve their processes. Information-driven manufacturing is one strategy that's benefiting enterprises that have undergone a digital transformation, and there's no end of it in sight.On a need-to-know basisThe Internet of Things (IoT) and platforms like business management software are making it simple to collect data on areas such as the production floor or the supply chain, and spin it into tangible insights. This is the fundamental understanding of information-driven manufacturing: Enhancing best practices by making assets more intelligent.Information-driven manufacturing relies on intelligent assets.But the new strategy doesn't simply apply to automation or predictive maintenance. Organisations are taking a unified approach to the supply chain by connecting a variety of databases and creating a unified network that supports information sharing. With structured stock software, the customer relationship management (CRM) application and the general ledger all communicating with each other, administrators gain real-time access to figures and metrics that can support better decision-making.In turn, this is making it easier for employees to retain customers or make quick changes in support of better quality control on the warehouse floor. Companies aren't blindly following a set blueprint because it worked in the past; they're continuously questioning it. Information-driven manufacturing is powered by a web of digital applications. Where to beginThe first step to incorporating the strategy is in the name itself: information-driven manufacturing. Unfettered access to data makes it easier for personnel to adapt their approaches and gain an all-encompassing view of operations. This wasn't possible through legacy systems like spreadsheets or even pencil and paper bookkeeping.Trying to connect the dots by piecing together siloed systems can be time-intensive and a huge investment of capital. Instead, companies are integrating platforms like business management software that provide a full suite of interconnected applications. By doing so they're able to keep the programs that employees have come to rely on, like digital accounting or project invoicing, while ushering in innovations like business intelligence or a mobile CRM.An information-driven manufacturing strategy is only as effective as the platform powering it. Talk to an Advanced Business Manager representative today to learn more.